Howdy, pardner! It’s time to round up another bunch of ne’er do wells in our What If…? Season 3 Episode 6 voice cast guide. And this time, to paraphrase The Watcher, it’s less “what if” and more “yee-haw!” as the show goes full-on Western for “What If… 1872?”
Before we get to who’s who in the cast, a recap of the plot. And spoilers past this point. In the episode, we begin in a broken-down church where we learn ringing a bell 10 times will summon the hero of the West, Shang-Chi, and his sidekick, Hawkeye, aka Kate Bishop. They take down John Walker (remember him from Falcon and the Winter Soldier?), and then we flash back to find out more of their origin. Specifically, they’re on the hunt for The Hood, a villain who fought Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing — who then disappeared.
They happen upon a burnt-down town, where the only person left is a kid named Kwai Jun-Fan, who knows martial arts. He saw The Hood disappear on a ghost train, so the three of them ride ahead of it and discover it’s a floating train using repulsor technology. Or, as Shang-Chi says, “looks like one of Stark’s inventions.”
Looking inside, they discover the townspeople from Jun-Fan’s town frozen in a trance. And who’s in charge? Sonny Burch, aka one of the villains from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Jun-Fan escapes, and as Sonny’s men chase him down The Watcher intervenes once again to save Jun-Fan.
As the train slows down, they happen on a creepy house with lanterns lined outside. The Hood is there, and wants Shang-Chi to join him, which of course, Shang-Chi would never do. Meanwhile, Sonny hypnotizes Kate and explains he killed her parents and is psyched to kill her too.
That’s not the only twist as it turns out The Hood is Xialing, who killed the original Hood and took his power. Shang-Chi won’t fight her, and it seems like Xialing might kill him until… Jun-Fan rings a bell and breaks Sonny’s spell, freeing Kate to shoot Xialing, knocking the hood off of her. The markings on her face slowly disappear, and she dies as the hood flies away on the wind, presumably to find its new owner (perhaps a man named Parker Robbins?).
Later, Kate and Shang-Chi watch as Jun-Fan does a martial arts demo telling the story of what happened — “That kid’s got some iron fists on him” says Kate in case you didn’t get that the kid is Iron Fist — and then they ride off into the sunset, saying “Sun’s getting real low, Hakweye,” which is a riff on the Hulk line from Age of Ultron for some reason.
Happy ending, right? Wrong! Back in The Watcher’s multiversal prison, the trio of Watchers we saw last episode come in to take him for crimes against watching. As they do, he shatters the multiversal wall, releasing three crystals. Bum ba BUM!
Looking for the What If Season 3, Episode 1 voice cast, What If Season 3, Episode 2 voice cast, What If Season 3 Episode 3 voice cast, What If Season 3, Episode 4 voice cast, or What if Season 3, Episode 5 voice cast? We’ve got you covered. For the Episode 6 voice cast, read on.
What If…? Season 3, Episode 6 “What If… 1872?” Cast: Who’s Who In The Cast?
So as usual, Jeffrey Wright plays The Watcher in this episode. Also, Jason Isaacs returns from the previous episode as The Eminence, the leader of the trio of Bad Watchers. You know him from Harry Potter and whatnot.
Simu Liu plays Shang-Chi, returning to the role from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (oh, ten BELL rings, I get it), as well as earlier this season on What If…? Also back from Shang-Chi is Meng’er Zhang as Xialing, Shang’s sister.
Hailee Steinfeld does indeed play Kate Bishop, aka Hawkeye, after playing the role in Hawkeye and in an end credits scene for The Marvels.
Wyatt Russell briefly voices John Walker, aka US Agent, previously seen in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as well as coming up in Thunderbolts*.
And as mentioned above, Walton Goggins returns as Sonny Burch from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Why? Because you can’t have a western without Walton Goggins.
Credited as Allen Deng, but more popularly known as Deng Lun, the 32-year-old voice actor for Kwai Jun-Fan, is arguably the most famous person in the voice cast. He’s a Chinese actor and singer who has won numerous awards and is probably best known for playing Xu-Hao on the long-running Flowers in the Fog.
What If…? Season 3, Episode 6 Cast List:
Here’s a full cast list from What If…? Season 3, Episode 6, “What If… 1872?” if you prefer to read it in list style instead of written out, as above:
The Watcher…Jeffrey Wright
Shang-Chi…Simu Liu
Kate Bishop…Hailee Steinfeld
John Walker…Wyatt Russell
Xialing…Meng’er Zhang
Sonny Burch…Walton Goggins
Kwai Jun-Fan…Allen Deng
The Eminence…Jason Isaacs
Additional Voices…Terri Douglas, Matt Yang King, Dave B. Mitchell, Andrew Morgado, Fred Tatasciore, Debra Wilson, Matthew Wood, Shelby Young
Where To Watch What If…?
What If…? Season 3 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The first episode of What If…? Season 3 premieres Sunday, December 22 at 3 am ET / Midnight PT on Disney+. One episode a day premieres after that, leading to the series finale on December 29, 2024.
Here’s the full list of episodes in What If…? Season 3, with premiere dates:
- Sunday, December 22, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 1: “What If… The Hulk Fought The Mech Avengers?”
- Monday, December 23, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 2: “What If… Agatha Went to Hollywood?”
- Tuesday, December 24, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 3: “What If… The Red Guardian Stopped The Winter Soldier?”
- Wednesday, December 25, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 4: “What If… Howard the Duck Got Hitched?”
- Thursday, December 26, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 5: “What If… The Emergence Destroyed The Earth?”
- Friday, December 27, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 6: “What If… 1872?”
- Saturday, December 28, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 7: “What If… The Watcher Disappeared?”
- Sunday, December 29, 2024: What If…? Season 3, Episode 8: “What If… What If?”
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